Chapter 5: Breaking Through to Qi Condensation Third Layer, Primal Chaos Qi Halberd
"This young master, I wonder if you need talismans?"
Outside the Beast Mountain Range, there was a market formed by many rogue cultivators and small families. Here, they would buy items at low prices and sell them at higher values.
As well as engaging in swindling and deception.
"This young master is truly unparalleled in the world. You must be a prodigy from a great family, not lacking in spirit weapons, talismans, or pills."
"Hey... young master, please listen to me. I have a map of the Beast Mountain Range here..."
This young man was desperate, directly blocking Gu Qing's path to prevent him from leaving. Seeing Gu Qing's youth, he intended to force a sale.
"Step aside. I've been to the Beast Mountain Range several times."
Gu Qing sat on horseback, unmoved as he urged his horse forward.
"So he's not a novice after all."
Hearing these words, the young man immediately cleared the path. The other person wasn't inexperienced, so he dared not block him.
To put it bluntly, he was the type to bully the weak and fear the strong.
"This fellow daoist, we've discovered a second-grade spirit herb and need two Qi Condensation Realm cultivators. Are you interested in exploring with us?"
"Not interested."
Gu Qing was here to hunt demonic beasts, not to search for spirit herbs, so he had no need to form a team. Having more people would actually make things more difficult.
Besides, those who recruit people for teams here are mostly rogue cultivators. Who knows if they genuinely want to form a team or intend to lure people into the Beast Mountain Range to rob and kill them.
"Boss, this kid probably isn't over twenty years old. He must be a genius from a small cultivation family. Should we follow him?"
The few men watched Gu Qing's departing figure and whispered among themselves. Geniuses from small families who come to train usually have spirit weapons and wonderful spirit pills.
To them, he was like a walking fat sheep.
"Follow."
The boss pondered for a moment and decided to follow. They had been committing crimes for many years and were experienced in robbery.
They knew which people they could target and which they couldn't. The Beast Mountain Range was vast and boundless. This particular area was quite barren, so geniuses from great sects and families rarely came here.
When geniuses from small forces came, they didn't have experts accompanying them. Someone like Gu Qing, fearless like a newborn calf, arrogant and self-important, had some ability but not much.
It wasn't as if they hadn't killed people like him before. After completing one job, they would move to another place, which was much better than risking their lives to hunt demonic beasts.
...
"Come out."
Gu Qing arrived at a valley, released his horse back into the mountain forest, then looked toward a certain spot in the deep woods and calmly spoke. Although he hadn't discovered anyone following him, the system alerted him that three people had been harboring ill intentions toward him.
Just as expected, as soon as Gu Qing's words fell, three middle-aged men walked out. They were exactly the three who had invited him to form a team.
"So they're treating me like a fat sheep?"
Gu Qing took out a halberd. Although he couldn't discern the three men's cultivation levels, they probably weren't beyond the late stage of Qi Condensation Realm.
After all, those at the late stage of Qi Condensation Realm could become retainers for small families. Having a stable income was much better than living this life of licking blood from knife edges.
As long as they weren't at the late stage of Qi Condensation Realm, Gu Qing was confident he could handle them. His divine strength had reached three hundred fifty thousand catties. With one strike of his halberd, he could probably smash the men into pulp.
Moreover, he had Spatial Divine Patterns, so he wasn't afraid of them using underhanded methods.
"Kid, we're only after money. If you know what's good for you, hand over your storage bag."
The three men immediately surrounded Gu Qing, speaking coldly.
"If you have the ability, come and take it!"
Gu Qing sneered and immediately struck down at the man who had spoken with his halberd. He didn't use true qi but instead erupted with blood and qi throughout his body. His blood and qi rolled like wolf smoke, and a crescent-shaped blood light suddenly appeared on his long halberd.
"Hmm?"
Seeing the terrifying might of this halberd strike, he instinctively dodged, not even having the courage to resist. With a loud bang, the spot where he had been standing was smashed into a large crater.
He couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, thankful that his combat experience was rich enough to instinctively evade. Otherwise, this halberd strike would have already smashed him into pulp.
"What a pity." Gu Qing felt somewhat regretful that he hadn't managed to kill one of them. These people who had lived by the sword for years indeed had some skills.
Those without skills would have died long ago. "This one is tough, attack together!" The leader roared, but he himself turned and fled.
As the saying goes, one knows if someone has skills the moment they make a move. With Gu Qing's immense strength, he was certainly someone they couldn't handle.
This time, they had kicked an iron plate. Bang! Bang! The two who charged forward flew out faster than they had approached, like torn sacks.
Gu Qing immediately activated his movement technique and chased after them. When cutting weeds, one must remove the roots.
These three wanted to rob him, and coincidentally, Gu Qing wanted to rob them as well. After all, killing an enemy not only allowed him to obtain their possessions but also earn an additional reward from the system.
"Boom!" Gu Qing's halberd scattered the incoming blade energy, invincible as his blood and qi burned like a raging furnace.
"Stop, I surrender! I'm willing to hand over my storage bag." The middle-aged man was scared out of his wits.
What kind of monster was this? His strength was too terrifying. Contact with the long halberd meant certain death.
He didn't dare to counterattack at all, his skills useless as he could only passively take the beating. "You should just die."
After a few exchanges, the middle-aged man was swept by the halberd, his bones breaking and tendons snapping. The crescent blade of the Fangtian Halberd arrived in an instant, decapitating him.
Gu Qing took a long breath and began to collect the spoils of war. In one word: poor.
Combined, the three men only had a hundred spirit stones and a few healing pills. However, their low-grade spirit weapons could be sold for some money, probably worth over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones.
[Congratulations to the host for slaying enemy Ding Zhaosheng, obtaining one thousand low-grade spirit stones.]
[Congratulations to the host for slaying enemy Yuan Yongjun, obtaining one thousand low-grade spirit stones.]
[Congratulations to the host for slaying enemy Zhou Zhiwen, obtaining the Yellow-rank lower-grade halberd technique, Primal Chaos Qi Halberd.]
Seeing the rewards, Gu Qing's face lit up with joy. His adoptive father had truly never disappointed him.
He immediately put the two thousand spirit stones, along with the stolen spirit stones and pills, all into the Golden Gourd for refinement. Then he swallowed it in one gulp, and pure energy overflowed within his body.
An ordinary Qi Condensation Realm cultivator would definitely be unable to withstand such a massive energy impact. But Gu Qing's physique was powerful, and he possessed the supreme technique, the Yin Yang Great Dao Song.
He quickly stabilized the overflowing energy, which was then devoured by his Dao Bone, giving rise to Yin Yang Origin Qi. Gu Qing's realm climbed steadily, soon breaking through to the Qi Condensation Realm Third Layer.
"Claim Primal Chaos Qi Halberd." Yellow-rank lower-grade, the level was a bit low, but it was better than nothing.
A stream of halberd technique knowledge flooded into his mind, and Gu Qing began to practice accordingly. Primal Chaos Qi Halberd didn't have any powerful moves, focusing instead on being fast, accurate, and fierce, all in one smooth motion.
It also taught how to utilize one's strength with the ease of lifting something light, making the long halberd's movements impenetrable like a wall of water. An hour later, Gu Qing had completely mastered the mysteries of Primal Chaos Qi Halberd, cultivating it to great achievement.
After all, his own proficiency with the halberd was already high, so cultivating a Yellow-rank lower-grade technique was like building upon a high foundation. "Primal Chaos Qi Halberd is simply tailor-made for me."
Gu Qing felt somewhat fortunate that he had opened and viewed it, not dismissing it. To others, Primal Chaos Qi Halberd might just be a halberd technique with exquisite moves but no powerful techniques, not considered strong.
But to Gu Qing, it was an invincible close-combat halberd technique that could perfectly utilize his divine strength with the ease of lifting something light. Indeed, there is no strongest martial technique, only the most suitable one.
The most suitable for oneself is the strongest. Gu Qing headed straight for the Beast Mountain Range.
This vast, boundless primeval forest was a treasure glittering with golden light, waiting for him to develop it.